Allison Lomond liked what she heard Wednesday from Jet-Age Wind Energy in terms of informing people about wind power as an alternate source of energy.

“There is a big market locally and internationally,” said Lomond, a Stephenville Rotarian, following Jet-Age’s presentation to the group.

“I would have loved to have had the opportunity to hear more about their specific technology related to residential affordability for regular folk and what’s available.”

Mel Dean, one of the four owners of the Stephenville-based Jet-Age, spent much of his address talking about the misinformation about wind energy.

“It’s simply pathetic,” said Dean.

Dean told the Rotarians that in the United States and Canada there are agencies that regulate all health and environmental aspects of wind farms.

He said his company, after two years of working on it, recently got its Canadian patent and has patents filed in the U.S., China and Hong Kong for Jet-Age’s horizontal axis airfoil turbines. The company’s next step is to develop and commercialize the technology.

“Right now we have nothing to sell, but we’re putting a push on developing our technology,” Dean said.

He said wind energy only leaves a fraction of the carbon footprint in comparison to other energy resources, including coal, heavy oil and natural gas.

Compared to fossil fuel, Dean says the death of birds by wind turbines is also only a fraction of those caused by those other sources.

Dean said this information wasn’t sourced from industry or those who oppose wind energy, but rather from the American Environmental Protection Agency or universities that do such studies.

He quoted David Suzuki as saying that health effects from wind power are unfounded. He said regulatory agencies and health organizations have no scientific or medical papers which recognize the existence of “wind turbine syndrome.”

Dean said he and another partner in the business, Paul Gallant, recently visited a wind farm near Palm Springs, California. He said from the fence line they could not hear the turbines, despite there being hundreds of large ones nearby.

He said the noise factor is not an issue, and said the wind is louder than the turbines.

Dean said this province’s percentage of wind energy, projected until 2067, is less than one per cent of the electrical power that will be generated, compared to 30 per cent globally by 2050 and 20 per cent across Canada by 2025.

“Basically, despite wind energy having a global growth of 12.5 per cent in 2013 and Canada growth of 20 per cent in 2013, Newfoundland and Labrador is on hold for 50 years,” he said.

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Henry

April 24, 2014 - 08:21

Progressive Conservatives do not want this technology as it has decided for taxpayers that Muskrat Falls is the ticket. I would like to see some form of wind energy alternatives as it makes complete sense and a cheaper form of energy in long run and certainly renewable energy. Nalcor and the Progressive Conservatives never really gave wind energy a chance.. Really 50 years before we look at this alternative.

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